Comminutor



'Patented De'azs, 192s.

UNITED STATES y1,696,851 PATENT OFFICE.

RAY C. NEwHoUsE, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIGNoIi rroV ALLIs-CHALMERS MANU'- FAC'IURING COMPANY, or MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION or DELA- WARE.

coMMINUroR.

Application' led April 24, '1926. Serial No. 104,298.

This invention relates in general to improvements in the art of comminuting materials, and relates more specifically to improvemeiits inl the construction and operation of rotary drum mills wherein a plurality of freely tumbling rods are caused to cooperate With the drum liners to granulate substances such as rock, ore, clinker, coal or the like. An object of the invention is to provide an improved rod mill which is simple in construction and efficient' in operation.

It is common commercial practice to utilize freely tumbling rods, as granulators in drum mills wherein the raw material is fed 'into one end of the drum and the reduced material is delivered from the opposite end of the drum. In theseprior rod mills the entering material comprises pieces of relatively large size which are gradually reduced-throughout the length of the mill and are discharged as pieces of much smaller.

average size. By admittin the coarse material` to one end of the ro s and delivering the line material from the opposite ends thereof, the rods are naturally spaced further apart near the feed end, and do not retain a desired parallel relationship, thus causing the rods to wear unevenly and hindering the discharge of final product.

In order to overcome thisdefect of the prior rod mills and to maintain the rods parallel to each other at all times,'the lpresent invention contemplates admission of the raw material to the center of the mill and discharge of fine material from the opposite ends thereof. This arrangement of the elements not only maintains the rods parallel to each other in order to distribute the. wear thereon, but also enhances the capacity of the mill and improves the effectiveness of the rodslby permitting rapid escape of the relatively fine material which tends to cushion the impact of the cascading rods.

A clear conception of an embodiment of the invention and of the operation of a mill constructed in accordance therewith, may be had by referring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the various Iviews.

Fig. 1 is a somewhat r`diagrammatic central longitudinal section through an improved rod mill.

- Fig. 2 is `a somewhatv diagrammatic enlarged transverse vertical section through the inlet portion of the improved rod mill.

The improved rod mill disclosed herein comprises in general a cylindrical drum 2 having liners 15 and end heads 3, 4 lwhich provide a granulating chamber 10 bounded by straight line generatrices and having uniform diameter-"throughout its length. The medial portion of the drum 2 is provided with a pair of spiral feed supply scoops 8 cooperating With a receptacle' 9 to receive material and formed to deliver this material into diametrically opposite inlet openings in the medial portion of the chamber 10, as the mill revolves. rl-he scoops 8 may be shielded by means of a housing 14 and the material may be admitted to the receptacle 9 through a supply opening 13. The opposite ends of the mill are provided with trunnions 5 and 6 forming supports 'ror the mill, and providing end discharge openings of smaller diameter than the internal diameter of the drum 2. A plurality of freely tumblin granulating rods 11 are located within t e chamber 10 and in the embodiment shown, the chamber 10 is partially filled With liquid 12. The drum 2 may be rotated by means of a driving gear 7 in a well known manner. l During normal operation of the mill, the drum'2 is being rotated continuously, thus causing the scoops 8 to intermittently remove batches of raw materialfrom the re-p ceptacle 9 and to deliver vthe raw material through the inlet openings in the medial portion of the periphery of the drum 2. The'k material thus. admitted is subjected to the granulating action of the cascading rods 11 cooperating with the. liners 15, and advances in opposite direction toward the discharge -openings in the end trunnions 5, 6, As the material is sufficiently reduced, it is eventually discharged at the opposite ends of the mill in substantially equal quantities. It will be apparent that by admitting the raw material to the medial portions of the chamber 10 and of the rods 11, the rods 11 will be maintained in substantially parallel relationshi at all times. Such medial ad- 10b mission o the material furthermore produces uniform wear on the rods 11 and by delivering material from b oth ends of the ganulating rods, the capacit of the mill is materially enhanced since t e comminuted no lim material is capable of moie freely escaping throu h the pair of discharge openings than if a single dischar e opening at one end of the mill is provide While the invention is shown herein as being applied` to a Wet grinding mill, its application to a dry grinding mill-must be apparent.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact details of construction and operation herein shown and described, for various modifications Within the scope of the claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

It is claimed and desiredto secure by Let-g ters Patent:

1. In combination, a rotary drum forming a granulating chamber the inner Wall of which has strai ht line generatrices throughout its length, means for feeding material into a medial portion of said chamber through the periphery of said drum, means for discharging material from the opposite ends of said chamber, and a plurality of freely tumbling granulating rods extending substantially throughout the length of said drum.

' 2. In combination, a rotary drum forining a granulating chamber bounded byl a cylindrical surface of uniform diameter throughout its length, means for feeding material into a medial portion of said chamber through the periphery of said drum, means for discharging material from the opposite ends of said chamber, and a plurality of freely tumbling granulating rods extendin substantially throughout the length of said chamber.

3. In combina-tion, a rotary drum forming a granulating chamber the inner wall of which has straight line generatrices throughout its length, a spiral scoop for feeding material into a medial portion of said chamber through the periphery of said drum, means for discharging material from the o posite ends of said. chamber, andl a plura ity of freely tumbling granulating rods extending throughout the length of said drum.

' 4. In combination, a rotary drum forming a granulating chamber bounded by a lcylindrical surface of uniform diameter throughout its length, a spiral scoop for feeding material into a medial portion of said chamber through the periphery of said drum, means for discharging material from the opposite ends of said chamber, and a plurality of freely tumbling granulating rods extendin substantially throughout the length of saif chamber.

5. In combination, a rotary drum having opposite constricted end discharge openings and forming a granulating 'chamber bounded by a cylindrical surface of uniform .dianieter throughout its length, means for feeding material directly into a medial ortion of said chamber through the perip ery of said drum, and a plurality of freely tumbling granulating rods extending substantially throughout the length of said chamber.

6. In combination, a rotary drum forming RAY C. NEWHOUSE. 

